1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the commercial shipping and delivering industry. More specifically, this invention relates to an automated, unattended unit for collecting and holding parcels, letters and other items for one or more commercial delivery services.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Individuals and companies rely heavily on commercial delivery services to transport letters and packages to intended addresses and recipients throughout the world. Commercial delivery services compete intensely both in terms of pricing and service. The amount of time that it takes a commercial delivery service to deliver an item to its destination is critical to the shipment of many items. To meet this demand, many commercial delivery services offer an overnight or "next-day mail" service for a premium price. Price competition for overnight and other service is very intense, and it is particularly important that shipped items be collected, transported and distributed quickly and on a cost-effective basis.
Some delivery services operate unattended drop-boxes in which a customer may place a pre-addressed package or letter. This is done with specialized envelopes which are distributed by the delivery service; often such envelopes include an account number for the customer and a tear-off receipt that the customer may keep after mailing the package. Such schemes, however, cannot provide full insurance protection or verification that the package was in fact mailed, since no attendant is present to verify that the letter was actually placed in the box. In addition, present-day unattended drop-boxes cannot accept packages because packages need to be pre-weighed and sized before they can be accepted for shipment. Another disadvantage of unattended drop-boxes is that they are generally inaccessible to customers who do not have a pre-assigned customer account or specialized mailing envelope. Such systems are also necessarily limited in the size and shape of items that they will accept for shipment.
Most delivery services also operate staffed offices in large towns and cities which can accept items of most sizes for shipments, and give verified receipts to the customer. Such offices can generally be used by persons who do not have a special account number with the company, but are usually limited in the hours of operation that they are open for. Such offices have a relatively high overhead cost for the company that operates them; this limits the number of such offices that a company can maintain. As a result, many persons and companies seeking overnight or other expedited delivery service must either drive to the nearest office, which might be many miles away, or, if feasible, use a drop-box which does not give a verified deposit receipt.
It is clear that a long and unfilled need in the art has existed for a system which accepts and stores items for subsequent pick-up by a commercial carrier which is inexpensive to maintain and service, which gives a verified deposit of receipt, which accepts items of different sizes and shape for shipment, and which can be accessed by persons and companies who do not have a pre-existing relationship with the delivery service or services.